Change-counter



W. N. DOVENER.

CHANGE COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.9,19m.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented May 4,

W. N. DOVENER.

CHANGE COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9, 1918..

Patented May 4, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- W. N. DOVENER.

CHANGE COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9. 191a.

Patented May 4, 1920.

I 4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

W. N. DOVENEH.

CHANGE COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-9,1918.

1,338,683. Patented May 4, 1920.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4-.

WILLIAM N. IDOVENER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CHANGE-COUNTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

Application filed August 9, 1918. Serial No. 249,132.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. DOVENER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Conduit Road, lVashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Change-Counters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is to a great extent an improvement upon my invention disclosed in my application Serial No. 168,037, filed May 11, 1917. The present invention embodies essential parts similar to those of the previous invention with improvements and added new features. The characteristics and advantages of the invention will be explained in connection with a detailed description of the accompanying drawing which shows certain exemplifying embodiments of the invention. After studying the specification and drawing it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms.

Figure 1, is a top plan of one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2, is a rear elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 4, is a perspective view enlarged of the structure of Fig. 1. Fig. 5, is a top plan showing a modified arrangement of coin chute. Fig. 6, is a detail perspective view of the gate of Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive. Fig. 7, is a longitudinal fragmentary section showing mainly a modified arrangement of the gate and its operating means. Figs. 8 and 9, are perspective views of the gate and part of the operating device of Fig. 7. Fig. 10, is a perspective view of one form of movable coin guard. Fig. 11, is a perspective view enlarged of the counter weight pulley for the same. Fig. 12, is a transverse section on large scale through the tray pivot structure of one form of the invention. Fig. 13, is a side elevation of one form of the invention employing the coin guard and counter weight arrangement, details of which are shown in Figs. 1.0 and 11. Fig. 14, is a perspective view of one form of tray tipping and tray positioning mechanism. Fig. 15, is a similar view of the same mechanism in a different position. Figs. 16, 17 and 18, are details of structural parts employed in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 19. Fig. 19. is a perspective view with the tray in tilted position of a modified form of the invention showing especially a modified construction and arrangement of the coin guard and showing the same general gate arrangement as in Fig. 4. Figs. 20 to 23, inclusive, are perspective details of structural parts of Fig. 19. Fig. 24, is a side elevation showing mainly the coin guard and related parts of Fig. 19. Fig. 25, is a top plan of a part of the base structure ap propriate to the form of the invention shown in Figs. 10 and 13. Fig. 26 is'a perspective view of the gate.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, one desirable form of the invention comprises a base 1, which may be a metal plate provided especially for the mounting of other parts of the invention or in some cases may be a part of the table or counter upon which the other elements of the invention are mounted. A tray 2, is mounted in tiltable relation to the base and is preferably arranged with its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the base or plate 1. F or thispurpose plate 1, is usually out with an opening 3, closely fitting the contour of the tray and an under plate 4, is provided which underlies the plate 1 and a part of the tray, when the tray is in horizontal position, and in that position affords a support for the tray. Certain desirable features of devices of this class, such as the construction and'arrangement of the spout 5, the sides 6 of the tray, the guard strips or flanges 7 and 8 carried by the tray and the base, etc., are quite fully described and explained in my previous application above identified and will not be further described here except sufliciently to explain new features herein disclosed.

Whencoins are swept on to the tray they will occasionally, unless means are provided to prevent it, slide far enough to be discharged through the spout 5, before the tray is tilted. To prevent this I provide a gate 9, the lower and side edges 11 of which are shaped to quite closely fit the contour of the tray adjacent to the spout 5, and the spout guard flanges 10. At the ends the gate is bent and provided with pivot eyes 12, through which passes pivot shaft 13, and this shaft is mounted in standards 14 on the base. One of the ends of the gate is provided with a slot 15, and this in in engaged by the finger 16 carried by the tray. Usually the finger is a suitably formed part of a small plate 17 as shown in Fig. 9, suitably constructed to be easily secured to the tray. hen the tray is horizontal, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the gate is closed with its lower and side edges closely fitting the tray surface adjacent to the spout and preventing accidental discharge of coins. \Vhen the tray is tilted a sufficient distance with the object of discharging coins at the spout the finger 16 acting on the slot 15 raises the gate as shown in Fig. 4, and permits the discharge. By suitably proportioning the slot and arranging the finger, the point in the tilting movement of the tray at which the gate will open may be varied considerably.

As described in my previous application, a handle 8 adjacent to the spout is usually provided to be depressed by the hand of the customer as the hand is held beneath the spout to receive the coins discharged. It frequently happens, however, that inexperienced patrons receiving change from these appliances do not perceive the purpose of the handle or they do not operate the tray to remove their change with suflicient promptness to enable the change counter to. assist the cashier in disposing of customers with great celerity. To call the attention of the uncomprehending customer to the tilting function of the tray and to discharge into thehand of the slow customer his change without waiting for him to tilt the tray at his leisure I have found it advisable to provide tilting means operable by the cashier which will now be described:

This tilting device to be operated by the cashier may be called for identification a rear tilting device since it is usually located toward the back of the change counter but this term is not intended as a limitation since such device may be variously located for different purposes.

Figs. 2 and 3, show one form of the rear tilting device comprising a push rod 18 carried by brackets 19 below the base and provided at the rear end with a button 20 to be actuated by the cashier. The forward end of the push rod is connected to a bell crank 21, of which an arm 22 is arranged to pass through the under-plate a and engage against the bottom of the tray 2.

When the change is placed upon the tray and the customer delays in tilting the tray the cashier may press the button 20 and the tray may thus be tilted slightly to indicate to the customer its function, and when the customer places his hand beneath the spout the tray may then be tilted further by the cashier if he so desires to discharge the coin. To aid the cashier in determining the proper movement of the button to effect a slight or moderate tilting of the tray without discharging the coin, the push rod may be provided with a depression 23 engaged by a yieldable finger or spring 24. This device opposes a yielding resistance to movement of the plunger after it has been moved a slight distance and the cashier may then push the plunger farther to discharge the coin or permit it to return to normal position. It will be noticed that in any position of the rear tilting device the customer is free to tilt the tray by actuating the front handle 8.

The construction and arrangement of the rear tilting mechanism and of the checking or position indicating means for it may be varied greatly and some examples of such variations are later described.

Fig. 1, shows a chute 25 leading from any well-known change making machine (not shown) and discharging upon the counter or plate 1 adjacent to the tray so that coins delivered by the change making machine will slide down the chute by gravity with sufiicient momentum to, go upon the tray ready to be delivered to the customer by tilting the tray without any direct ban-- dling of the coins by the cashier. In this case the chute delivers the coin to the tray from the rear, but this arrangement may be varied. For instance, as shown in Fig. 5, the chute 26 is arranged to deliver very close to the tray at one side thereof and for this purpose the guard flanges 27 of the bent guard fingers 29, arranged to conform to the contour of at least a part of the tray opening 3 in the top plate 1. To accommodate these fingers the bottom plate 4: is provided with openings 30, as best seen in Fig. 18. The plate 28 is arranged to reciprocate by providing it with holes 31 which accommodate pillars 32 depending from the bottom plate 4, and by connecting a rearward part of the plate with the rear end of balance lever 33. The fulcrum 34 of the lever is carried by a bracket 35' secured to the ends of the pillars 32, and the rear end of the lever is provided with ears 3%, connected by a link-yoke 35 to ears 36 formed on plate 28. The forward end of the balance lever has a counter weight 37. The rear edge 38 of the tray overlies the upper ends of the guard fingers 29 so that when the tray rocks to horizontal position, by its weight, it depresses the fingers which move through their slots while the counter weight 37 rises until the tray is flush with the counter; but when the tray is tilted the counter weight immediately causes the guard fingers to rise until they extend considerably above the upper surface of the counter, as shown in Fig. 19, and effectively prevent coins from accidentally passing under the tray. Evidently the fingers or guard flanges may be arranged at any part of the tray opening of the counter where it is found that coins are likely to be thrown be neath the tray.

Figs. 10, 11 and 13, show a modification of the movable guard in which the guard has an oscillating, rather than a reciprocat ing, movement. In this construction plate 40 is pivoted at its forward end in a bracket 41 and the guard fingers 42 are curved so as to conform to the proper arc of move ment in passing through the slots in the base plate. The guard plate is elevated in this case by a counter weight 43 secured to one end of a cord which passes over the pulley 44, carried by a bracket 45, and the other end of the cord is connected to a post 46 depending from plate 40. This is a preferred form of the invention for some pur poses and its operation will be easily understood from the previous description.

Figs. 14, 15 and 19, show a modified form of rear tilting and holding devices. The tray is provided with a handle 47 secured to the tray near the rear and conveniently by fastening a part of the handle to one of the tray guard flanges 6. The tray is provided with a member having a recess 48, and for convenience in manufacture this recess may be formed on an extension of the handle 47, as shown. On the top plate 1 is located a yieldable member or spring 49, having a projection 50 to cooperate with the recess 48. lVhen it is desired by the cashier to tilt the tray he grasps the handle 47 and when the holding device is also provided, the first slightly tilted position is indicated to him by the projection 50 engaging the recess 48 and the tray will then be retained in that position if he wishes by the hold ing device or it may he farther tilted, with easy release of the holding device, to discharge the coins, either by the cashier acting upon the handle 47 or by the customer depressing the handle 8.

A. modification of the gate and its operating means is shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. 'Here the gate 51 is provided with pivot eyes 52 engaging For this purpose the tray is provided at either side with a shaft support 54. At one side the gate has an extension 55 running beyond the pivot center and this is connected by a link 56 to an eye 57 located on the top plate 1. When the tray is tilted the link holds the rear end of arm 55' and causes the gate to rise in relation to the tray and this movement is amplified by the forward movement of the pivot axis 53.

pivot shaft 53 carried by the tray.

The form of the gate and its mounting and operating mechanism shown in Fig. 4, is preferred for some purposes.

An important feature of the gate mechanism, as shown for instance in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, is that the gate is positively held down, that is, closed, until the tray is tilted, by the engagement of the finger 16 with slot 15 of the gate. This prevents accidental raising of the gate, even if coins are propelled against it with considerable force.

A feature of some importance in connection with the movable coin guard arrange ment of Figs. 10, 13 and 25, consists in providing, in addition to the guard fingers 42, another projecting member or finger, 60, which serves as a guide, cohperating with aperture 61 in plate 4 (Fig. 25), to steady the movement of the guard plate 40, and also serves with the guard finger 42 opposite it, to be first engaged by the tray in its downward movement, and so to operate the movable guard. A similar feature may be provided when desired, in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 18 to 24.

Fig. 12 shows important devices for the pivotal mounting, and adjustment of the tray. vThe tray is provided with a yoke 65, and the pivot shaft 66 passes through the dependent arms of this yoke. The protruding ends of the shaft engage holes in members 68 of a bracket 67. Other members 69 of the bracket lie against the under side of bottom plate 4, and are adjustably secured to it, as will appear. Bolts 70 pass through holes in members 69 and the bottom plate 4, and when necessary, in the top plate 1, also. The holes 72 in the members 69 are considerably larger than the bolts. Screws 7 3 are provided, threaded into holes in members 69, and the ends of these screws bear against bottom plate 4. When bolts 70 and screws 78 are loose, the bracket 67 may be adjusted in horizontal directions to bring the rear edge and side edge 6 of the tray (as best un derstood from Fig. 1) into close registry with the adjacent edges of the aperture in top plate 1. By proper relative tightening of the bolts and screws, the tray may also be adjusted sufficiently in a vertical direction so that the rear portion of the tray rests firmly on a rearward part of the bottom plate 4, and flush with the top plate. Without this vertical adjustment, slight inaccuracies in the vertical position of the pivot center might cause the tray to rest on some forward part of the bottom plate, that is. some part of it near the pivot but rearward of it, and so cause the rear edge of the tray to be held somewhat above the surface of the counter, which would prevent the proper placing of coins upon the tray. Without the horizontal adjustment, great care would have to be used to preserve a proper relation between the rear outlines of the opening in plate 1, and the rear outlines of the tray, and the pivot location, otherwise the tray would not properly fit the opening.

The pivot shaft may be secured in position by upsetting the ends, or in other ways. For instance, in the structure shown in Fig. 12, the shaft may be prevented from being displaced endwise by the proximity of screws 78.

In some cases the gate, such as gate 9, Figs. 1 to 6, may be fixed instead of movable. For such an arrangement, it is only necessary that the gate shall be so related tothe pivot center of the tray that when the tray is tilted there will be a sufficient opening for the proper discharge of the coins. Such an arrangement is shown in Figs. and 26, in which the fixed gate 80 is secured to the top plate 1 at one side of the tray.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, the tray being provided with a spout, and movable means carried by the counter normally actingto prevent discharge of coin at the spout and constructed and arranged to free the spout for discharge of coins when the tray is tilted.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, means at the rear for tilting the tray forwardly to discharge coins into the hand of a customer, and a device acting between the tray and the counter for indicating to the operator a partly tilted position of the tray.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, the tray being provided with a spout, and a gate normally acting to prevent discharge of coins at the spout and constructed and arranged to free the spout for discharge of coins when the tray is tilted. V

at. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, the tray being prowhen the tray is in vided with a spout, a gate movably supported adjacent to the spout and means acting when the tray is tilted to raise the gate.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of acounter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, and a movable guard at the rear of the tray to prevent coins from being pushed beneath the tray when the tray is tilted.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, a movable guard to prevent coins from being pushed beneath the tray when the tray is tilted, and means to move the guard the tray is tilted.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, a gate to prevent discharge of coins from the tray when tie latter is in normal position, rear tilting means for the tray and a movable guard to prevent coins getting under the tray when the latter is tilted.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination, of a counter, a change tray tiltably mounted thereon, and having a rearward portion arranged to rise considerably above the normal surface of the counter when the tray is tilted, and means adjacent to the rear part of the tray acting to prevent coins being pushed beneath the elevated part of the tray when the tray is tilted.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a counter, a change tray'tiltably mounted thereon and arranged so that a rearward part of the tray rises above the surface of the counter when the tray is tilted but is substantially flush with the counter normal position, and a coin chute arranged to discharge coins at a point adjacent to but at a point outside the contour of the tray and so that coins will slide upon the tray from the chute when the tray is in normal position, the parts being constructed and arranged so that the chute does not interfere with the tilting of the tray.

WILLIAM N. DOVENER.

into active position when 

